Former MLB Catcher Matt Batts Dead at 91
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Matt Batts, who caught Hall of Fame pitcher Satchel Paige during a 10-year major league career, has died at age 91.
Family spokesman Leo Honeycutt says Batts died Sunday at his home in Baton Rouge, where he retired after playing for five major league teams.
A San Antonio native, Batts signed with the Boston Red Sox while playing for Baylor in the early 1940s. He made his major league debut with Boston in 1947 after serving in the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II.
Batts caught Paige, the first black pitcher in the American League, with the St. Louis Browns in 1951. He went on to play for Detroit, the Chicago White Sox and Cincinnati. In retirement, he ran youth baseball clinics in Louisiana.
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